Something to remember him by
by MissKluck
Summary: Sasuke has left Konoha and Sakura wakes up missing him. Just a short little drabble for day 5 of SSmonth. SasuSaku. One-shot. Slight angst.


This happened some time after Sasuke left Konoha.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**Something to remember him by**

It was one of those nights again. One of the nights where she couldn't sleep and just kept on remembering over and over again the night he left. She kept going over everything she'd said, everything he'd said, trying to figure out what she did wrong. If there has something that she could have done so that he would have stayed and if something in his words could forebode his return. This was not the first time she'd done this and it would probably not be the last either.

Opening up the top drawer of her bedside table, she rummaged through it, looking for something she always kept right there. It was Sasuke's headband. She fondly picked it up and placed it into her lap, trailing the pattern of the Konoha symbol as she had done so much already. Still half a year later Sakura remembered how she had received it as if it was just yesterday. It had been when she worriedly had gone searching for Sasuke and Naruto after she had gotten to know of that Kakashi had gone after Naruto when he hadn't returned along with the other ones from the retrieval arc. She had found them by the gates; Kakashi carrying a dishevelled and unconscious Naruto, full of cuts and bruises. Sakura came running up to them, a frantic look on her face, not really daring to ask but just waiting for an answer. Her eyes moved around constantly, searching for a sign of their other teammate.

Kakashi took Naruto with one arm, searching through his ninja pouch with the other. He seemed to find what he was looking for as he drew something long, blue and slightly shiny out of his pouch. Sakura realized what it was at once, opening her mouth to ask, but Kakashi just shook his head to her unasked question. He silently held up the blue headband of Sasuke Uchiha, watching as the pink haired girl snatched it to her, almost fawning over it as her eyes filled with tears.

Sakura sent a sad glance towards Naruto, halfway looking up from burying her face in the cloth of Sasuke's headband as Kakashi walked passed her. The scent she recognized with Sasuke Uchiha wafted her nostrils as she again had buried her face in his headband, not caring if part of it was cold metal. She had taken care of it since then, refusing to let anyone besides team 7 see it.

Now Sakura again brought it up to her face, still faintly smelling his scent in it. She had been careful never to take it out while the window or door was open so that no air would blow through the headband and take away its scent. After sniffing at it for a while she brought it back down, looking at the famous scratch right through the Konoha symbol. It was the proof that Sasuke no longer belonged to their village that he was no longer a shinobi of Konoha, and while Naruto had only done it by accident it was like a solid proof of what happened. Sasuke had finally tried to cut all his ties and he dared them to repair them, to keep on mending on them. Sakura silently pondered about what they where going to do now. They still knew nothing about Sasuke or Orochimaru's location, nothing that could bring them closer to find their lost teammate.

She laid her head down again on her pillow; still sniffing on the headband as she wondered about what the future had to bring for the members of team 7. Would they ever see each other again? Would they ever be the actual team 7 ever again? She remembered the headband's owner and all the time she'd spent with him and memories of him. She tried to push the thoughts about failure and hopelessness away, focusing only on the good things they as a team had done. And just as she felt herself growing drowsy with sleep again she carefully put the headband back into it's place in her drawer and closed it. She took a fond glance of the team 7 photo as she laid down again, trying to sleep as thoughts of Sasuke Uchiha filler her mind, only this time they were happier than they had been half an hour ago.


End file.
